Whenever there is a vacancy in the House, the state committee of the party that last held the seat must appoint a replacement. This is contingent upon the approval of the respective state chairperson of the party. Any vacant seat held by an independent must be filled by a special election.<ref>[http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/incode/3/13/5/3-13-5-0.1 ''FindLaw'' "Indiana Code"](Referenced Statute Indiana Code §3-13-5-0.1)</ref>

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Whenever there is a vacancy in the House, the state committee of the party that last held the seat must appoint a replacement. This is contingent upon the approval of the respective state chairperson of the party. Any vacant seat held by an independent must be filled by a special election.<ref>[http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/incode/3/13/5/3-13-5-0.1 ''FindLaw'', "Indiana Code," accessed December 16, 2013](Referenced Statute Indiana Code §3-13-5-0.1)</ref>

The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Indiana State Legislature. It has 100 members, who are each elected to two-year terms and serve without term limits. Each member represents an average of 64,838 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[1] After the 2000 Census, each member represented approximately 60,805 residents.[2] Elections are held in even-numbered years. The sessions of the House of Representatives begin on the Second Tuesday in January of each year in which the General Assembly meets unless a different day or place shall have been appointed by law. However, the Governor, the public welfare shall require it, by proclamation call a special session. The length and frequency of the sessions of the General Assembly are fixed by law[3].

Sessions

Article 4 of the Indiana Constitution establishes when the Indiana General Assembly, of which the House of Representatives is a part, is to be in session. Section 9 of Article 4 states that the General Assembly will begin its regular session on the Tuesday following the second Monday in January of each year. However, Section 9 allows the starting state for the session to be changed by law. This has happened in Indiana in 2010, as the General Assembly's session convened on January 5th instead of the constitutionally designated date, which was January 12th.

Section 9 also gives the Governor of Indiana the power to call special sessions of the General Assembly.

2011

Session highlights

In the 2011 session, the Indiana legislature reduced the corporate income tax from 8.5 to 6.5 percent, spread over four years. [5]

Budget surplus

At the end of the 2011 fiscal year in July 2011, the Daniels administration revealed a $1.2 billion surplus.

The state's unexpected extra income came from the administration's ability to make deep budget cuts, along with higher than anticipated tax revenues. The budget cuts raked in nearly $460 million more than the $597 million the state had originally aimed for last July. Tax collections also contributed to the surplus, bringing in $204 million more than it had projected, with $195 million coming from income taxes.[6]

Despite the optimism, not everyone in Indiana viewed the surplus positively. House Minority LeaderPat Bauer claimed that the administration's report was "gimmicky," referring to cuts that were made to health care and education. The state school system reportedly bore much of the budget cutting burden since July 2010, returning $325 million from the $6.9 billion that it was allotted in the previous budget.[6]

David Patterson, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 62, said that "demonized" state employees should receive some of the surplus, in part because they had to work harder to account for the many eliminated positions.[6]

After the surplus was revealed, Daniels stated that the extra money would be put into savings, rather than trying to fix the past and reverse previous cuts.[6]

Hoosiers nearly made off with their own piece of the surplus, but the numbers fell just shy. The amount necessary to trigger automatic tax refunds is 10 percent or more of general spending. The $1.2 billion landed just short of that, at 9.1 percent.[6]

Governmental streamlining

On June 30, the state's largest agency, the Family and Social Services Administration, was accidentally eliminated, due to a major clerical error during the drafting of legislation related to the Family and Social Services Administration. The Administration helps more than a million people access Medicaid and food stamps in Indiana.[7]

According to the AP, "Senate Bill 331 was intended to repeal a provision already in law that would have automatically eliminated (the Family and Social Services Administration) - called a sunset. The sunset language was set for June 30. The bill that repealed the sunset provision went into effect July 1, so technically, FSSA was eliminated minutes before the bill intended to save it went into effect."[7]

The mistake was noticed days after the new law went into effect, and caught many welfare recipients and legislative leaders off guard. On July 7, Governor Mitch Daniels signed an executive order on Thursday, July 7, to correct the mistake.[7]

Legislative walkout

36 Democratic representatives participated in a legislative walkout on Tuesday, February 22, in opposition to proposed legislation limiting union powers in Indiana. The Democratic departure left the House void of a quorum, leaving only 58 of the 67 Representatives needed to establish a quorum. [8]Terri Austin, Steven Stemler, and Vanessa Summers stayed behind to provide, if necessary, a motion and a seconding motion, which would enable them to stop any official business from proceeding should the Republicans try to do so. [8]

On Monday, March 7, House minority leader B. Patrick Bauer revealed the Democratic caucus' hideout to be the Comfort Suites in Urbana, Illinois.[9] According to the Indiana Constitution, Article 4, sections 11 and 14, the House may enforce fines and other methods to compel absent members to return. Beginning on March 7, the Democrats are subject to a fine of $250, to be withheld from future expense or salary payments, for each day they are not present in the statehouse. [10] Regarding their actual pay, House Speaker Brian Bosma has announced that the 37 lawmakers are required to be physically present in the chambers to receive their per diem payment, which is $152/day. [9] This move came as a result of the approximated $40,000 in per diem payments automatically made to the legislators during their seven days of absence. According to reports, the representatives have promised to either return the money, or donate it to charity. [9]

Tuesday, March 22 marked the start of the fourth consecutive week of Democratic absenteeism, complete with an increased incentive to return. Governor Daniels and House Republicans upped the ante with daily fines increasing from $250/day to $350/day, effective Monday, March 21. Despite the increased penalties, Democratic resolve remained intact. House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer stated that Democrats "will remain steadfast" in their opposition to bills hurting wages and education in Indiana. [11] Rep. Winfield Moses, Jr. (D) called the increase "a poke in the eye," and promised that it would do nothing to break the impasse. [12]

The Democrats ended the standoff after 36 days, returning on March 28. The two sides agreed to compromise on a number of issues, including shelving the controversial "right-to-work" bill.[10] Although the Democrats returned with some of their wishes granted, their actions were not without consequence. Each absent member has accrued a total of $3500 in fines, given by Republicans. [10]

The absence of the Democrats did not only hold up changes to worker's rights, but also the passage of a new state budget. The legislature has until April 29 to pass the new budget, however, if no budget passes, Gov. Daniels will be forced to call a for a special session. The current budget is set to expire June 30, 2011.

This chamber was mentioned in a November 2012 Pew Center on the States article that addressed supermajorities at stake in the 2012 election. Supermajority generally means a party controls two-thirds of all seats. While it varies from state to state, being in this position gives a party much greater power. Going into the election, Republicans in the Indiana House held a solid majority and looked to gain a supermajority.[14]

The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election.

An April 2010 analysis in the Wall Street Journal said that what's at stake in the Indiana House elections of November 2010 is the U.S. Congressional redistricting that will take place after the 2010 census:

"In Indiana, for example, Democrats controlled redistricting after the 2000 elections and picked up three additional congressional seats over the past decade. Now, Republicans are trying to reverse those gains. If the GOP picks up just three seats in the state House, the party will control both chambers of the legislature and strengthen its hand in the redistricting process."[15]

In 2010, the total amount of contributions raised in state house elections was $19,009,965. The top 10 donors were: [16]

Vacancies

Whenever there is a vacancy in the House, the state committee of the party that last held the seat must appoint a replacement. This is contingent upon the approval of the respective state chairperson of the party. Any vacant seat held by an independent must be filled by a special election.[23]

Redistricting

Redistricting is handled primarily by the General Assembly. Should it fail to enact a redistricting plan, the five-person Indiana Citizens Redistricting Commission is then tasked with redrawing legislative boundaries.

2010 census

Census figures for Indiana were released on December 21, 2010. The state's population grew 6.6 percent to almost 6.5 million. The redistricting process began the week of April 11, 2011. Although the deadline of April 29 only applied to congressional districts, Republicans insisted on a speedy process, to the dissatisfaction of Democrats who argued that the plan reduced competition and posed a disadvantage to minorities. With the signature of Gov. Mitch Daniels on May 10, 2011, Indiana became the third state -- after Iowa and Louisiana -- to complete its entire redistricting process.

Representatives

Salaries

As of 2013, members of the Indiana legislature are paid $22,616.46/year. Additionally, legislators receive $152/day per diem tied to the federal rate.[24]

Pensions

Indiana legislators created a 401(k) plan for themselves in 1989, becoming the first in the nation to do so. Lawmakers who took office after April 1989 were ineligible for the traditional pension plan, receiving the individual retirement account instead.

Legislators pay 5% of their annual salary into the 401(k). In 2007, they voted to include per diem allowances, expense payments and leadership stipends into the calculation, thus raising their retirement accounts.[25]

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, the Republican Party was the majority in the Indiana State House of Representatives for seven years while the Democrats were the majority for 13 years. During the final three years of the study, Indiana was under Republican trifectas.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Indiana state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Indiana had a long period of divided government between 1992 and 2004 until the arrival of a Republican trifecta in 2005. Indiana reverted back to divided government between 2007 and 2010 before reverting yet again to a Republican trifecta in 2011. The state has never had a Democratic trifecta. Indiana’s highest SQLI ranking came in 1995 (12th) under divided government, while the state’s lowest SQLI ranking came in 2009 (34th), also under divided government. The state’s greatest leap in the ranking occurred between 1994 and 1995, where Indiana rose seven spots. Its greatest decline in the ranking occurred between 2003 and 2004, where the state dropped seven spots.

SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: N/A

SQLI average with Republican trifecta: 29.25

SQLI average with divided government: 20.82

Chart displaying the partisanship of Indiana government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).